


Beginnings

by ArchdemonSlayer



Category: Blue Dragon
Genre: Gen, Pre-anime
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-27
Updated: 2013-09-27
Packaged: 2017-12-27 19:43:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/982861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArchdemonSlayer/pseuds/ArchdemonSlayer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blue Dragon Anime. After Mafe is destroyed, Jiro runs into a woman named Zola. This tells the story of their journey together, up to arriving in Talta village. Jiro will learn to summon his Shadow, Minotaur and swordfight. However, this journey will change him in more ways than one as he goes from a kind, loving brother to a cold, hateful person.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Everything was burning. His village and his home. Jiro felt shattered as his house collapsed on top of his family. He couldn't stop the tears from spilling down his cheeks. He was all alone now. No more coming home to his family each day. No more playing with his friends and family. And worst of all, no more Jina. Jiro couldn't believe that he'd never see his little sister every again. For him, it felt like a part of him died as well.

The soldiers that attacked his village went around, shooting any stragglers. Jiro backed away and started to run. He heard shouts and a bullet whizzed by his head, barely nipping his ear. He turned to see two soldiers running after him, guns raised and shooting. Jiro ran faster, ignoring the fatigue from the run back to his house. Bullets landed in front of him, making Jiro change the direction he was running. Eventually, he ran into the woods. Diving into a bush, he was hidden from view of the soldiers trying to kill him. The men went right past his hiding place. Jiro immeadiately got up and ran in another direction away from the soldiers.

Jiro ran as fast as he could, not caring where he was heading. Tears flew off of Jiro's face. A moment later, he tripped on a rock, falling facefirst onto the ground. Instead of getting back up, Jiro buried his face into his arms and conitnued to cry. He felt completely hopeless and was wishing that a soldier would come and finish him off so he wouldn't have to suffer any longer.

"They destroyed your village too, huh?" a voice asked. Jiro looked up. A silver-haired woman with a skull bandana and a sword was standing over him, looiing down at him with icy blue eyes. Jiro got up and turned back to where the red light from his village was slowly beginning to fade.

"If you want the strength to strike back, then come with me," the woman said. Jiro turned to face her.

"What do you mean?" he asked. He was intrigued by what she could offer him. A blue aura surrounded her and a blue bat rose out of the ground, screeching. Jiro backed away, more out of fear than surprise. What WAS that thing? !

"This is my Shadow," the woman continued, as if reading Jiro's mind.

"Shadow?" Jiro echoed, looking down. The bottom of this "Shadow" was connected to the woman's feet.

"I believe you also have Shadow powers," the woman told him.

"Power? Seriously?" Jiro asked. Did he really have that kind of power?

"Mm-hmm," the woman answered. She held out a hand towards Jiro. "Come with me."

Jiro continued to gaze at the bat, still amazed at it. Then he looked down at the woman's extended hand. If there was any chance he could avenge his family, he would take it!

Jiro's face went serious and he reached out his own hand, grabbing her's. Instantly, her grip tightened and she pulled him as she ran. Her Shadow vanished in a blue light. He could hear shouts coming their way. Jiro turned his head and saw the two soldiers that had chased him before in hot persuit of him and this woman. Gunfire sounded from behind Jiro. A bullet skimmed past his arm, tearing his white shirt sleeve.

"Hurry!" the woman exclaimed, pulling Jiro harder. Jiro was running the best he could, pain shooting up his legs from tiredness. Suddenly, he slipped and he lost his grip on the woman's hand, falling to the ground. He could hear the soldiers coming up behind him. He rolled over onto his back and saw one soldier standing over him, the end of his gun barrel aim at Jiro's head. The soldier began to squeeze the trigger when a yellow blast hit the soldier, throwing off his aim and causing him to shoot the ground next to Jiro. Jiro turned to see that the woman had summoned the bat again. The soldier that was about to kill Jiro slowly got up. The front of his suit had been blown off, leaving bare and bleeding skin. The two soldiers yelped when the bat roared and hightailed it out of there.

"What cowards," he heard the woman chuckle as her Shadow vanished. She held her hand out to Jiro and he grasped it as she helped pull him back onto his feet. "You all right?"

"Yeah. . ." Jiro replied. He was still at a loss or words at this woman's strength.

"By the way, what's your name, kid?" the woman asked.

"I-it's Jiro. . ." Jiro stammered.

"Jiro, huh? I'm Zola. It's nice to meet you," Zola replied, smiling. She turned and walked out of the woods, Jiro following close behind.


	2. Chapter 2

"There's a town up ahead," Zola said. "We can go buy food and supplies." She and Jiro had been traveling for a day since Mafe was destroyed. Jiro didn't respond and just followed Zola into the town.

Jiro began feeling uncomfortable going through the town. Several builings had been vandalized. Groups of boys sitting in dark alleyways turned their heads to stare at him and Zola. A few boys had knives and some were fighing other boys. Zola seemed to notice this as well and motioned for Jiro to pick up the pace. They stopped to eat for awhile. As they did so, Jiro couldn't help feeling the stares of the boys burning into his back. Zola put a hand on his back.

"Don't worry. We'll get out of here as quickly as possible," Zola told him. Jiro calmed down a little, but not much.

"Those boys look like they'd kill someone in an instant," Jiro muttered. After they were done eating, Zola looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to set.

"Sorry, Jiro, but we'll have to spend the night in this run-down town," Zola said.

"Great. . ." Jiro murmured.

"While I go buy supplies, you go and find us and inn to stay for the night," Zola said, handing him a small bag of gold. "When you've reserved a room, meet me here. Be careful." Jiro nodded in understanding and ran off. He glanced around warily, wanting to avoid being jumped by a gang up boys. However, as Jiro turned a corner, he ran into a taller boy. Jiro fell to the ground, dropping the bag of gold and quickly picked it back up. The boy turned and glared at him. Three more boys, all taller and stronger than Jiro, came up behind the first boy. The boy Jiro crashed into grabbed the collar of Jiro's shirt and lifted off the ground. He was eying the bag of gold.

"Mind handing over that gold?" the boy asked. "I don't think you wanna die today." With his free hand, he punched Jiro in the face and threw him back to the ground.

"Leave me alone!" Jiro spat. The boy laughed.

"Make us, weaking!" he replied. Jiro felt a rush of anger at the insult and shot up, about to throw a puch at the boy. The boy grabbed Jiro's fist and threw him into the dead-end alley nearby. Jiro landed on a pile of boxes and slid over the ground, hitting his head on the builing wall at the end of the short alley. The four boys walked into it, cracking their knuckles in anticipation. Jiro got up and pressed himself up against the wall, finding no way of escaping. One boy kicked him in the stomach, making Jiro slump to his hands and knees. The boy kicked Jiro in the ribs several times, making a small trickle of blood come out of the corner of his mouth.

The beating stopped and Jiro looked up to see why. The boy had backed away and another took his place. He used his foot to push Jiro flat onto the ground and started punching the back of his head into the ground multiple times. When he was done, he watched in satisfaction as Jiro struggled to stand. His forehead had a large bloody gash, the blood running down his face.

"Damnit, Zola! Where are you?!" Jiro muttered to himself. Unknown to him, Zola was out of sight, watching the whole thing and waiting for something to happen. The boys started to laugh and Jiro glared at them. A metal bar caught his attention and he dove for it, picking it up in and instant and swinging it at one of them. The bar made contact with a boy's head and knocked him back. The boy was unconscious, the side of his head starting to bleed. The remaining three turned to Jiro and pulled out knives.

"You're gonna die for that one, kid!" One snarled. He swung the knife at Jiro, Jiro trying to dodge but the knife cut him deeply in the arm. Jiro clutched it in pain, feeling the blood seep from in between his fingers and run down the back of his hand. Another boy stabbed him in the shoulder and pulled the knife back out. In response, Jiro weakly swung the metal bar, but a boy grabbed the end of it and yanked it out of Jiro's hand before swinging it at Jiro's head, knocking him back. The boy Jiro had knocked out was just now starting to regain consciousness and he pulled out a knife of his own.

Jiro pushed past the boys and tried escaping, but one boy threw his knife, sticking it in Jiro's back. Jiro screamed and collapsed to the ground. His strength was begining to leave him, and yet a new strength felt like it was replacing it. The knife was yanked out of his back and Jiro felt more knives being driven into his back and were pulled out again. A boy then kicked Jiro into a wall and delivered a punch to his stomach, making more blood come out of Jiro's mouth. The bag of gold fell to the ground and another boy picked it up. At that moment, Zola was about to interfere before the boys killed Jiro when a blue light coming from him made her stop and smile.

"His Shadow has finally been awakened," she murmured.

Jiro heard the boys scream and he opened his eyes. In front of him was a teal minotaur creature. Looking down, Jiro saw that the bottom of it was connected to his feet. He realized that this must be the Shadow Zola said that he possessed. The Shadow looked down at Jiro.

"You needed me?" it asked. Jiro didn't respond and continued to stare in awe at the Shadow. The boys yelped when the Shadow fixed his attention on them. They turned and ran, but the Shadow punched the ground behind them, sending out a shockwave that caused the boys to go flying. Then it sent out a bolt of lightning from in between his horns, zapping the boys and making them scream. When it was done, they looked at Jiro. Jiro realized they were looking at him like he was some sort of monster. The Shadow let out a roar and starting beating the boys. The blood loss started taking its toll on Jiro as darkness passed over him.

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Jiro blinked open his eyes and found himself lying in a bed. Bandages were wrapped around his body. He tried sitting up, but pain went through his body and he clutched his chest in agony.

"You're finally awake, huh?" Jiro heard Zola say. She was sitting in a chair at the other end of the room, her arms crossed and her icy blue eyes locked on Jiro.

"What happened?" Jiro asked.

"Your Shadow began to go crazy," Zola replied. "It would have killed those boys if you hadn't passed out when you did. How are you feeling?"

"It hurts so much," Jiro moaned.

"It's to be expected. Releasing your Shadow for the first time puts a large strain on the wielder's body," Zola explained.

"What happened to my Shadow?" Jiro asked.

"It vanished when you passed out," Zola replied. "Your Shadow, Minotaur, couldn't sustain his form when the power stopped flowing to him."

"Will I ever be able to bring him out again?" Jiro asked. Zola nodded.

"You won't be able to summon Minotaur right away, but with training you'll eventually have the power to control him," Zola answered.

"Was it the same for you?" Jiro asked. Zola hesitated before replying.

"I guess you could say that," she said. "Some Shadows are easier to control than others. Controlling Killer Bat wasn't too difficult for me, but seeing as how Minotaur acted is a sign that it'll be hard for you to control him."

"I see. . ." Jiro murmured.

"As soon as you've recovered enough, we'll start your training!" Zola said. "Are you ready?"

"I am," Jiro replied with a determined expression.


	3. Chapter 3

"Get up, Jiro," Zola ordered after knocking the boy down during training. "Is that all you can throw at me?"

One month had passed since Jiro had made a full recovery. He and Zola had been traveling all over, searching for ruins that were linked to the Seven Soldiers of Light. Training was brutal, but Jiro wasn't one to complain if it meant he would get stronger. Right now, Zola was training him in swordfighting.

"I know, I know," Jiro grumbled, standing up and dusting himself off.

Zola sighed, shaking her head. "You need to work harder. That's the only way you'l have the strength to summon and control your Shadow."

"Don't you think I already know that?!" Jiro snapped. Zola sheathed her sword without a reply and turned around, picking her bag up.

"We need to keep moving. Otherwise, Gran Kindgom will catch up with us."

"Right," Jiro mumbled, sheathing his dagger and picking his own bag up, following Zola through the forest they had camped out in. He turned to her. "How much longer do you think it'll take for me to summon my Shadow?"

"It depends on how hard you work at it," Zola replied. She turned her icy gaze to him. "You still have a ways to go, though."

"I see," Jiro murmured, looking down. Zola sighed.

"Just be patient. You'll have the power eventually. For now I need to train you to defend yourself without the Shadow. After all, you never know when Gran Kingdom will show up. I have to admit, you're doing well so far."

Jiro looked up at Zola in surprise. The woman rarely gave out compliments. Zola's eyes widened suddenly as a hum sounded above them. She snapped her head upwards, narrowing her eyes as a Gran Kingdom airship flew over them.

"Hide!" she hissed, grabbing Jiro's arm and yanking him under a bush just as the airship started to land in the clearing ahead of them. Soldiers got out of the ship, armed with guns. A man came out last, wearing the uniform of a high-ranking Gran Kingdom officer.

"Are you sure you saw her?" He asked one of the soldiers near him.

"No doubt about it, Commander Hawk!" the soldier replied, saluting. "It was a silver-haired woman wearing a bandana, although she had someone accompanying her."

"Very well," Hawk said then raised his voice so all the soldiers could hear him. "Scour the forest! If you find her, capture her alive! Lord Nene has uses for her and will have our hides if she ends up dying! If someone is with her, you can kill them if they interfere."

"Dammit...!" Zola snarled, crouching lower in their hiding spot. Jiro could feel his heart pounding. It was just like when Mafe was burned. Soldiers hunting him down, coming closer and closer to his hiding place. Jiro squeezed his eyes shut and began shivering.

Zola noticed this and wrapped an arm over his shoulders. "Don't worry," she whispered, her eyes softening. "I'll protect you." Her gaze hardened. "But if the worst-case scenario happens, I want you to run as far away as possible. Got it?"

"But, Zola- -" Jiro began to protest, but Zola slapped a hand over his mouth, peeking through the bushes again and narrowed her eyes.

"That commander has a Shadow..." she murmured. Jiro's eyes widened and he leaned forward so he could peer out as well. Behind Hawk was a brown three-headed dog Shadow, each head having a golden collar around its neck. They snarled, sniffing the air.

"Find them yet, Cerberus?" Hawk asked.

"It's hard to if we don't even know her scent is," Cerberus growled, all three heads talking in unison.

"Just pick up one that doesn't smell like anyone here," Hawk said.

"Easy for you to say," Cerberus replied. "The stench of the soldiers is overpowering all the other scents!"

Cerberus moved past the soldiers in the direction of Zola and Jiro, all three noses twitching as they sniffed for them. Jiro stiffened when it approached their hiding spot, holding his breath. Cerberus paused for a moment when he reached the bush the two hid in, sniffing a couple of times. The three heads bared their teeth and began growling. Jiro's heart nearly stopped, fearing the Shadow found them.

A squirrel ran up a tree just ahead of them, chattering noisily. Cerberus began barking, chasing the squirrel.

"Cerberus!" Hawk barked. "Stop fooling around and find that woman!"

Jiro released the breath he had been holding. "That was close..." he whispered. However, the Shadow's sharp ears had pick it up. Cerberus turned around, six red eyes glaring at the bush. It raised a paw and shot forward, bringing it down on the bush. At the same time, Zola snatched Jiro up and leaped backwards out of harms way just as the bush exploded in a flurry of leaves and twigs.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" Hawk said, walking toward the two. The soldiers circled the two, completely surrounding them. "If it isn't Zola, traitor to Gran Kingdom!"

"Seems like you remember me well, Hawk," Zola replied with a smirk.

"Oh yes, how could I forget the girl who destroyed Nene's hard work after coming back to him after five long years?" Hawk growled. Cerberus pulled up behind him, the three heads baring their teeth.

"You used to work for Nene?!" Jiro exclaimed, backing up a step from Zola.

"It was a while ago. And the only reason why I came back was to destroy the tools Nene created for world domination," Zola replied.

"Well Lord Nene has plans for traitors like you," Hawk said with a smirk. "If I were you, I'd come quietly so no one gets hurt."

"The only people who are going to get hurt will be you Gran Kingdom soldiers!" Zola shouted, summoning Killer Bat.

"I understand that you are a powerful Shadow Wielder," Hawk said. "But just how powerful are you really when someone you're protecting is threatened?"

Zola snapped her head around when Jiro let out a cry. A couple of soldiers had grabbed him, a third holding a gun to his head. She turned back to Hawk, glaring death at him. Hawk simply laughed.

"What will it be, Zola? If you attack, this boy's life will end in an instant!"

"Zola!" Jiro cried out, struggling against his captors.

"Hang in there, Jiro!" Zola replied. She took a step toward Jiro.

"Stop right there!" Hawk ordered. Zola froze when the soldier put a finger over the trigger. "Come quietly, and the boy lives. It's your choice."

Zola gritted her teeth, closing her eyes. Killer Bat vanished and Zola turned to Hawk, her hands in the air.

"That's a good girl," Hawk smirked. Jiro struggled even harder as the other soldiers grabbed Zola, placing a metal bracelet on her wrist. "This'll prevent you from summoning that bothersome Shadow. And we may as well bring the kid along."

"What?!" both Zola and Jiro exclaimed.

"Lord Nene will find a use for him as well, I'm sure," Hawk said.

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The two were forced to walk onboard the airship and were then thrown into a prison cell, two soldiers standing guard as the ship took off.

"Jiro, are you alright?" Zola asked.

"I'm fine," Jiro replied, his voice sounding drained. "This is all my fault. If I had been more careful, I wouldn't have been taken hostage."

"Jiro, listen to me. It's not your fault," Zola said firmly. "We'll find a way off this. Got it?"

"But I'm completely useless, and your Shadow powers had been sealed off," Jiro replied.

"Yours hasn't, though," Zola pointed out. "If you can summon your Shadow, you can bust us out of here."

"But how?!" Jiro snapped. "You know I'm unable to summon and control it!"

Zola grabbed his shoulders, turning him so he faced her. "You must summon Minotaur, Jiro! I have faith in you!"

"But you said it yourself! I still need to train!" Jiro protested. The next voice he heard wasn't Zola's, but someone else's.

"It doesn't matter how hard you train, you'll never be able to control me."

The scene in front of Jiro changed. Instead of a prison cell with Zola in front of him, He was suddenly in empty space, his Shadow in front of him.

"You're too weak," Minotaur continued. "You'll never have the power to fight back."

"What?!" Jiro exclaimed, eyes wide.

"You aren't worthy of being my partner," Minotaur scoffed. "I don't get why I had to be stuck with someone as weak as you!"

"I am not weak!" Jiro shouted, raising a fist. Minotaur laughed coldly, crossing his arms.

"Oh really? Then prove it! Force me to come out! If you can, that is."

"I'll show you!" Jiro growled. Blue energy exploded from him as he threw a punch using all the strength he could muster at the Shadow. He was suddenly thrown back into reality. Zola had backed up, her eyes wide. Minotaur appeared suddenly.

"Good job," Minotaur praised. "Now let's see you raise hell!" Jiro put forth more energy and Minotaur burst through the prison door, snatching up both guards and chucking them down the hallway.

"Jiro...you did it...!" Zola murmured.

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Hawk was sitting in the command room of the airship when a soldier came bursting through the room. "What the hell is it?!" Hawk growled.

"The prisoners have escaped!" the soldier exclaimed. "The boy is in fact a Shadow Wielder and is making his way over here along with Zola!"

"They what?!" Hawk shouted. "I thought I told you all to guard the cell!"

"The guards had been taken out!" the soldier explained. "They- -"

He was cut off when the door was blown away, Zola and Jiro going through it. Jiro had a look of pure hatred on his face.

"Heh, never would've thought you were a Shadow Wielder, kid," Hawk smirked. "But it's all over for you. Cerberus!" The Shadow was summoned.

"Be careful, Jiro," Zola warned. "This is your first time fighting with a Shadow. Be on your guard."

"Got it. Let's go, Minotaur!" Jiro shouted.

"Right!" Minotaur replied, sending a punch Cerberus's way. The Shadow raised a paw, catching the punch. The head in the center opened its mouth, firing a fireball. Minotaur was sent backwards, crashing through a wall. Cerberus pounced, but Minotaur moved out of the way, bringing both fists down on the Shadow's back.

"Heat Wave!" Hawk shouted. Fire burst from the Shadow, blasting Minotaur and Jiro back. He walked over to them. "It's over kid."

"Oh really?" Hawk snapped his head around to see Zola press a button on a key, the bracelet falling off. She summoned Killer Bat. "Ray Stinger!"

The eye beam sent Cerberus into the control panel for the ship, soldiers running out of the room as it exploded. The ship trembled and began quickly decending.

"Damn you Zola," Hawk growled. "I'll have you next time."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Jiro shouted. Before Cerberus could react, Minotaur was covered in electricity and released and onslaught of punches, making the Shadow explode and Hawk scream. Minotaur vanished and Jiro passed out from exhaustion.

The ship exploded in a few areas and the control room quickly began filling with smoke. Zola scooped Jiro up as Killer Bat blasted a hole in the side of the ship. Zola leaped out of it, landing on Killer Bat's back as the Shadow flew the two away from the flaming ship.

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When Jiro opened his eyes, he was in the mindscape with Minotaur.

"Gotta admit, you're stronger than you look, kid," Minotaur said. "But you still have much more to prove to me. Can you do it?"

"Yeah, I'll prove to you I'm not some weakling!" Jiro replied. Minotaur smirked.

"Glad to hear it. From now on, we're partners!"

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"From now on, we're partners!"

Jiro opened his eyes, seeing Zola holding him. He felt himself flying through the air and saw they were on top of Killer Bat.

"Glad to see you're awake, Jiro," Zola said. Jiro looked behind him, seeing the ship crash into the ground and explode.

"Did I...did I seriously do that...?" Jiro asked.

"Yeah," Zola replied.

"What now?" Jiro asked.

"I train you how to make better use of your powers," Zola replied.

"I guess we'd better get started right away, then," Jiro said.

"Not now. First you need to get some rest. You used up a lot of energy," Zola pointed out.

"But- -" Jiro began to protest.

"No buts!" Zola interrupted. "It wouldn't do you any good to go passing out again."

"I see..." Jiro mumured, looking down.

"Jiro..." Zola's voice caused him to look up again. A smile was on her face. "You did a good job. I'm proud of you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, the reason why I made Minotaur have the same kind of attitude as Blue Dragon is because when Kluke summons Phoenix for the first time, Zola is surprised she wasn't having any problems controling her. This seemed to imply to me that Minotaur was stubborn at first.


End file.
